Sedro-Woolley Faces off Against Lynden for 2A State FinalBy Steven Dion

The 2A final appears to have the best chance of becoming an instant classic. The interesting storylines heading into this game are seemingly endless. Lynden has won the last 3 titles including six of the previous 8 whereas Sedro-Woolley is in rare territory playing December football. Both teams hail from the highly competitive Northwest League that produce hotly contested games in the regular season. They squared off at Lynden on October 24th and the home team escaped with a 33-30 victory. I caught up with Dave Ward this week and he said Lynden’s ability to create a half-dozen big plays was a key factor in the first go-around and will be a point of emphasis on Saturday. Based on the quarterfinal and semifinal games, expect an enormous sea of blue in support of S-W and likewise for the Lions.

The playmakers that are bound to make a splash in this contest include Sterling Somers (QB) and his favorite targets Jordan Wittenberg and Scooter Hastings who stands 6’7”. The Lynden defense has been slightly more porous than in recent years allowing opponents to push them including a rare loss against Ferndale in mid-December. The Cubs boast a dynamic offensive weapon in Mason Elms who appears to play every position on the field. If he and fellow tailback Carter Crosby can tally over 80 yards on the ground and find the end zone, the Cubs have a good shot.

The strength of Sedro-Woolley is their linebacking corps. The speed and tenacity of Chad Wilburg, Jacob Farrell, and Jay Burger has the ability to hold talented offenses like Lynden, but will they put it together on Saturday to take down the champ? The action takes place on Saturday at 1pm at the Tacoma Dome.

When a 2A team matches up with a 4A team, we all assume the 4A team with over 800 more students would have a distinct advantage. Not when you play Prosser, who maintains one of the best football programs in the state. The third matchup in the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic turned sour quickly for the Emerald Ridge Jaguars, who faced off against the Prosser Mustangs.

Both teams battled well in the first quarter, with a score of 7-7 going into the second. This is when Prosser moved into a second gear.

The Mustangs scored 28 straight points in the second quarter, capitalizing off of turnovers from Emerald Ridge. On the back of Kason Blair and Cardell Jones, the Mustangs continued to build their lead into the third and fourth quarters.

The big difference in this game was the rushing game. Prosser had 39 total carries for 269 yards, while Emerald Ridge had 16 carries for 15 yards. Griffin Meyers, quarterback of the Jaguars had a good day with three touchdown passes, but the Emerald Ridge defense could do nothing to stop the storming Mustangs. Prosser took this one 62-20.

In the second contest of the afternoon at Sedro-Woolley High School, the home team Cubs took on the Prosser Mustangs for a trip to the state quarterfinal. Prosser is accustomed to playing games of this magnitude, with a state title under their belt in 2007 and a couple of second place finishes in the 2000’s. But the Cubs weren’t afraid of the Mustang history, and came out strong with their first possession in front of their unbelievably large fan base.

Senior Shawn Kennedy for the Cubs ran in his first touchdown of the day from 11 yards out on their first possession, but the Cubs failed to make the point after, leading 6-0 early in the first. And then the drought began for the home side Sedro-Wooley club. The Cubs could not break into the strong Prosser defense for almost thirty minutes of football, held scoreless until early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Prosser didn’t slow down offensively, with quarterback Mason Schutt running for one TD and passing for two more to lead 21-6 entering the fourth.

The Cubs fans did not let their team go down quietly, as Sedro-Woolley began to put their foot on the gas in the final quarter of play. Senior running back Clayton Johnson began the Cub comeback with a 14 yard run to cut the lead to 21-13. But the Mustangs responded with another TD pass from Schutt, his third of the day to bump the lead to 28-13 with less than 9 minutes to play. And Shawn Kennedy answered the call for the Cubs. Two more scores in the next three minutes of play cut the Prosser lead to just three, 28-25 with just over five minutes remaining.

But Sedro-Woolley couldn’t break into the Prosser defense any further, and a late interception by the Mustangs sealed the victory on the road, 28-25.